United Samaritans offers open house to learn about colonoscopy

DANVILLE — If you've been putting off that colonoscopy, Provena United Samaritans Medical Center wants to help you make up your mind to get this potentially life-saving screening for colorectal cancer.

The hospital is offering a colonoscopy open house from 1 to 3 p.m. April 1, and it's free and open to the public.

The open house will include refreshments, tours and information on cancer prevention, early detection and colonoscopy.

The hospital plans to showcase new endoscopic surgical equipment used in colonoscopies and other procedures.

The new equipment includes high-definition screens that allow for better images and a more accurate diagnosis, hospital officials said.

Surgeons performed more than 1,200 colonoscopies at United Samaritans last year, according to Dr. James Savage, chief of surgery at the hospital.

Savage and surgical nurses will be on hand for tours and questions.

The surgery department is on the first floor north wing of the hospital at 812 N. Logan Ave., Danville. Parking is available at the patient/visitor lot at the northwest corner of Fairchild and Logan.

Of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. Colorectal cancer screening saves lives because it can find cancer in early stages and pre-cancerous growths that can be removed before they turn into cancer.